WIL / PARLOVR / THE RACOONS (Canada)

Wil

Parlovr

These dudes have toured with the likes of Franz Ferdinand and Arctic Monkeys, and Spin magazine named them 1 of “5 Montreal Bands to Watch” in 2009.

Raw and reverb-soaked, screams and whispers; sing-alongs and spacey instrumentals; warm and crisp, shimmering leads; short pop jabs and extended epics. You get the idea, right? It’s quirky, it’s catchy, and while it’s full of familiar throwbacks to ‘60s pop, ‘80s post-punk, and ‘90s garage, it’s also refreshing.

The Racoons

These Vancouver-based indie-poppers were quickly snapped up by the same guy who manages Tegan & Sara, and are preparing to record their first full-length album this summer.

Pit-stops on their rise to fame have included touring with Detroit rockers The Von Bondies, and – OMG – having their song “Room to Operate” featured on an episode of MTV’s The Hills (Season 5, Episode 12. The scene where Spencer and Heidi are arguing about babysitting. Not that we watch The Hills.)